Treasured memories of Keegan Cup success

When the final whistle sounded to bring the 1991 Meath SFC final to an end one of the first things Benny Reddy did was to embrace his team-mate Terry Ferguson.

The victory was something both men had worked long and hard to achieve.

As two of the oldest players on the team they had endured many setbacks, numerous disappointments in their quest to land a senior crown; so many in fact that they could have been forgiven if they had started to feel that the big prize would forever prove elusive.

Yet they didn't stop believing. They didn't throw up their arms in despair and complain about the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

They, and their team-mates, knuckled down, kept believing and, finally, in November '91 they made it across the line.

Gaeil Colmcille defeated Walterstown 1-12 to 1-6 in the final with referee Paddy Kavanagh's final whistle signalling redemption - at last.

“One of the first things I did was to give Terry a hug. We didn’t say anything, we didn’t have to, we knew what the other was thinking, we knew what we as a team had just achieved,” Reddy recalled when he reflected back on what was unforgettable moment for him and his club. A moment you suspect hasn't been diminished in the least by the passing of 30 years.

"I had soldiered with players like Terry and Conor (Ferguson) for years without much reward, but after we beat Walterstown we knew what we were after doing, we knew the significance of the victory."

If anything the passage of time has only served to enhance the importance of that achievement, partly because Gaeil Colmcille have yet to repeat the feat.

They went close last October when they reached the SFC final.

The team managed by Lar Wall travelled to Pairc Tailteann to take on Ratoath. However, fate was to conspire against them once more.

Gaeil Colmcille folk won't want to relive the sequence of events, but Wall's team looked destined to end their spell in the wilderness when they led by three points going into injury-time.

Then Ratoath's Bryan McMahon fired over a point. It looked like it would nothing but a mere consolation - but there was more drama to come. More pain for Gaeil Colmcille.

The seconds ticked away. Then deep into injury time Ratoath's Joey Wallace crashed home a goal from a goalmouth scramble.

The upshot was Gaeil Colmcille somehow lost by a point - 1-13 to 1-14.

A slap across the face with a wet towel wouldn't even come close to describing what it felt like for Gaeil Colmcille's long-suffering contingent.

Tears of disappointment mingled with the rain.

TOP FLIGHT

When Reddy started playing on the senior club team in the mid-1970s Gaeil Colmcille struggled to win a game - of any kind.

It was much the same in the early ‘80s.

In 1984 the Kells-based side were relegated from the senior ranks. That was a stark reminder the club was moving in the wrong direction. Yet it also proved to be something of a catalyst.

The club reached the quarter-final of the IFC in 1985 under new manager, Cavan man PJ Carroll, before taking things a couple of steps further and winning the McDonnell Cup the following year.

"That was the start of it, when PJ came in he put structure in the club, he gave us direction," recalled Reddy.

Top flight football, however, didn't guarantee any success. In fact the club faced further setbacks in the quest to repeat the SFC triumphs of 1966 and '68.

A significant low point was reached when a year or two before '91 Gaeil Colmcille were thrown out of the senior championship.

They were unable to fulfil a SFC fixture because of a shortage of players available for a game and paid the ultimate price.

Chastened, they regrouped and came back better, stronger and more focused. By '91 they were ready to push on.

Reflecting back on '91 and how it worked out so sweetly for Gaeil Colmcille, Reddy highlighted how a number of circumstances combined to ensure it was to be THEIR year.

Right up there was the fact that the team was made up of a core of young players helped along by a couple of seasoned campaigners.

That coveted, precious combination of youth and experience proved a potent mix.

“In 1988 and ’90 we won u-21 titles and that changed the whole picture," said Reddy.

"We had a great bunch of young players coming through. Then there were players like me, who at 32, was the oldest man on the team while others like Terry (Ferguson) and Paul (Carr) were around the 30 mark," he added.

Another important factor highlighted by Reddy was that the manager back in ‘91 was PJ Carroll, a Cavan man who also managed Leitrim.

An unusual example of one man managing at club and inter-county level at the same time, it was an arrangement that held benefits for the club.

“PJ suited us at the time, as I say he gave us structure," recalled Reddy.

"He was training Leitrim players in Kells at the time, we often played Leitrim in challenge games and that was great for us.

"Even though at times we were well beaten by them it meant we were up against tougher opposition and this brought us on, it helped to sharpen us further."

Early in the summer Gaeil Colmcille kicked-off their SFC campaign with a victory over Skryne followed by a match against Slane which was won with relative ease.

It was a game that was significant in more ways than one.

“One thing that stood out for me in that Slane game is that we were the first club in Meath to wear an advertisement in front of our jerseys, it was Kells Bottling," said Reddy.

"The name of the company was printed in small letters, they could only be a certain size, but we were the first club to wear those kind of jerseys that evening.”

DELAYED FINAL

Due to the protracted nature of Meath’s run in the All-Ireland SFC that year (a campaign that included the four famous games with Dublin and ended with a defeat to Down) the local club championship didn’t resume until September.

Gaeil Colmcille faced Navan O’Mahonys and won with Reddy scoring 1-5.

That was a game that indicated Gaeil Colmcille's form wasn't just an aberration, a fluke. There was substance in what they were doing.

“For me that was a vital victory. O’Mahonys were champions and had a great team with players like Cathal O Bric, Joe Cassells, Mickey Downes, Frankie McEvoy, Alan Reilly, but we won by a point," stated Reddy.

"Beating O’Mahonys proved to ourselves that we were good enough, it meant a lot to the young players especially, it gave them great confidence.”

Gaeil Colmcille pushed on and in the semi-final showed they were a team on form by trouncing Seneschalstown by 16 points (3-15 to 0-8).

As a statement of intent it was powerful and morale-enhancing.

The following week – Sunday 3rd November – the final was played.

“We hadn’t time to think about the final and that helped us, especially the young players."

Back then Reddy wasn't only a player he was also club secretary and he still has the written notification he received from the Co Board about when the final would be played.

Walterstown (who had won a three-in-a-row in 1982, '83 and '84)) provided the opposition before a big crowd in Pairc Tailteann.

Many fancied the Blacks and Gaeil Colmcille were finding the going heavy early on.

Then they got a break which Reddy believes was a crucial turning point.

“John McCarthy scored a good goal for Walterstown in the first-half. They also got a penalty, but Kevin Jordan, who was a terrific goalkeeper for us, he had been on Meath minor and u-21 panels, saved it. That was crucial."

The sides were level 1-3 to 0-6 at the interval, but the second-half belonged to Gaeil Colmcille.

Eugene McGillick scored a goal and went on to claim the man-of-the-match award, but Kevin Cahill was outstanding too from his midfield berth.

“To me, winning the SFC meant everything, I was delighted for the club, we had always struggled as a club, didn’t get the credit we deserved, although you had to earn your credit,” added Reddy.

It was all the sweeter for Reddy because he had coached many of the young players through under-age.

So to see them claim the biggest prize in Meath football, well, that made it all extra special.

Yet that Gaeil Colmcille team didn’t win another SFC crown.

The years passed, players moved on. Reddy continued playing football into his 50s, helping out the club’s junior sides when and how he could.

Nothing, however, was to match that extra special day in 1991 when he was involved in helping his beloved Gaeil Colmcille land the big prize.

A day he will always treasure - and you get the sense he is not alone.